The Pashalis family that owns Estia in Philadelphia is in expansion mode. Brothers Pete and Nick along with Pete’s brother-in-law, John Lois are bringing their take on Greek and Mediterranean cuisine to Marlton in early 2014. Estia Greek Taverna will replace the former Pietro’s (which they also own) at 140 W Route 70.

Recently passed legislation allows New Jersey breweries to sell beer on site and has given budding brewers the impetus to move forward. Russell counts fifteen breweries that are on tap for the Garden State and many will be just a short ride from Philadelphia, including two for Mount Holly.

They’re calling it a soft opening. Though I’m not sure how softly a $3.5 million, 16,000 square foot, 250-seat Eastern European restaurant can open, even if it is in Magnolia, New Jersey. But Stanislaw “Stosh” Stachowski’s mega-restaurant will finally open tomorrow, October 16th at 6 pm.

The menu ranges from everything from Polish pierogies to meats from a wood burning grill. There are also some pizzas thrown in for good measure. Lunch debuts on Friday, October 25th.

The two breweries-in-planning are Village Idiot, taking over an old bar on Mt. Holly’s main street, and Spellbound Brewing, which is firming up a location nearby. The guys behind both projects are friends and are looking forward to working together to turn Mt. Holly–already home to High Street Grill, one of South Jersey’s most respected craft-beer bars–into a beer-tourism destination.

This evening the second New Jersey and 10th overall location of Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant officially opens in Voorhees Town Center. The mayor of Voorhees, Michael Mignogna along with the Iron Hill owners will be there for the ceremonial “First Pour” and then the brew pub will be officially open to the public at 5 p.m.

In the brewery will be Kevin Walter. Walter comes from Iron Hill’s Lancaster location where his Rauchtoberfest won a silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival.

We are fascinated by the locations page on Tony Luke’s web site. Of course there is the original Tony Luke’s at 39 E Oregon Avenue. But there are now locations in three different casinos and one in the Kingdom of Bahrain, with another one coming. And then there is an outpost in the Scores gentlemen’s club in Baltimore. So maybe it isn’t surprising that Tony Luke’s is opening today at the Laurel Lanes bowling alley in Maple Shade.

The doors officially opened at 11 a.m., at 4 p.m. the ceremonial cheesesteak cutting will take place with Analyze This actor Leo Rossi. Rossi is in town working with Tony Luke Jr. in his newest project, Mummer movie, Queens for a Day.

Next up for Tony Luke, a Temple University location at 1801 N Broad is scheduled to open on August 18th.

This weekend the former Woolworth’s in Collingswood that housed Blackbird Dining Establishment has given way to Benny’s Burger Joint. Alex Capasso is still the owner but has swapped out fine dining for burgers, shakes, fries, 80s video games and a jukebox.

The menu features half-pound Angus as well as turkey and veggie burgers. Also on the menu are tuna sandwiches, grilled or crispy chicken and what has to be the signature sandwich; the Phony Luke’s a burger topped with roast pork, caramelized onions, provolone and broccoli rabe.

Flying Fish’s original brewery in Cherry Hill is finding new life as … a brewery. Forgotten Boardwalk Brewing has signed a lease for the 13,500 square foot space that Flying Fish vacated a year ago and will gain access on September 1st.

The brewery plans five ales for distribution plus additional beers that will be exclusive to the planned tasting room.

Okay, we’re fairly certain that even those who didn’t make the list of Budget Travel Magazine’s Most Awesome Boardwalks have not reached a pit of despair so deep that they’ve been reduced to pursuing drug addiction. But these debates can get passionate, that’s for sure, when the stakes are high.

Everyone at the Jersey Shore is looking for tourism this summer, worried that Sandy, or national perceptions of Sandy, will keep people away. Budget Travel included area boardwalks at Atlantic City, Point Pleasant, Wildwood and Rehoboth–but did not mention Ocean City, NJ, which does, indeed, seem odd. But Ocean City, Maryland, got a strong mention, and perhaps the writers felt it would be too clunky to have two Ocean Cities on the list (far-fetched, we realize).